My name’s Ti, I’m a proud Kuku Yalanji person living on Gadigal lands.
My Aboriginal ancestry comes maternally, while my papa is Hungarian. I’m a third year Bachelor of Fine Arts student and paint mostly! I would describe my practice as a way of connecting to culture as I live off Country and as a way of communicating my relationship with the land. My paintings are all made with a sense of urgency regarding my spiritual and cultural identity.
Who are your favourite artists?
I’m very inspired by abstract, colour field and Aboriginal Artists. Artists such as Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, Sally Gabori, Rover Thomas and Paul Feeley. They all seem to share a strong idea of spatial quality.
When did you start painting?
I have been painting my whole life ! As a child I was always creative and I had it in my mind that I would be a painter up until I decided to start a Law degree. It wasn't until I dropped out after almost three years to really own that part of myself. Now I paint every day, whenever. I really lack boundaries around painting, which haunts me, when I have other things to prioritise.
What is your favourite tone of paint at the moment?
I don't have a favourite to be honest, I just use whatever I have laying around and try to understand how I can translate that colour to assist my way of communicating when painting.
Buuuuut…. if I really had to pick, it would be any warm tone as it reminds me of home .
How does your spiritual and cultural identity affect your artmaking?
My spiritual and cultural identity is so strong and I feel very connected to the land, which sometimes makes it hard for me to try and paint anything else other than the land haha.
But also, people have a hard time separating my identities which is why I'm passionate about redefining what “Aboriginal art” is. We can co-exist and we are multifaceted peoples. I can be Aboriginal and I can be an artist and I can be both too. So it can either aid or stunt me to an extent.
Professionally, what’s your goal for the future?
Professionally, my goal for the future is to be able to paint in a more environmentally conscious way, explore other mediums and continue exhibiting. I would also love to potentially study psychology so I can work with Aboriginal youth. :))